The Cartographer

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Book excerpt

The Day The World Went Away

June 27th, 2012 Carlsbad, New Mexico

I stood at the entrance of the cave, staring into its gloomy depths. The stalactites reminded me of the homeless people I occasionally ran across in downtown Roswell—flashing me crooked smiles that would send the best dentists in the world running for cover. There were no rusted coffee cups or requests for spare change around here, though. The only begging being done here was me begging the cave to cough up its secrets.

Sam, my best friend, finished securing the rope around my waist. After he completed the task, I worked a similar loop around his waist, ensuring it was snug enough that it wouldn't slide off, but loose enough that it wouldn't crush his abdomen.

“Come on Nathan, hurry up,” he grumbled.

“Alright man, hold your horses,” I responded, completing my mental checklist. I examined the stability of the rope for the hundredth time, highlighting my anal retentiveness.

Most kids my age preferred doing things like playing Minecraft, sneaking into the Mall Cinema or hanging out at the Carlsbad Mall. Sam and I preferred exploring the unknown, and this cave provided enough adventure to last us the school year. The kids at Carlsbad High School treated us like pariahs because we preferred outdoor adventuring over Creeper smashing.

Sadly, this was our last chance to explore the cave before the summer break. I had qualified for advanced science classes provided by the high school which would absorb most of my time this summer. Sam had been upset about it ever since I broke the news, and seemed to brood nonstop. Sometimes he could be such a downer.

“I'm gonna head in now,” I called. “Make sure to hold on tight.”

He clutched the rope tightly and scowled before throwing me a curt nod. I smiled despite his crankiness, and descended the stony outcropping.

“I hope this hammer works on that wall,” I said and grabbed my rock hammer.

“If it doesn't, this will be another short trip,” he grumbled.

During our previous trip to the cave, I discovered a collapse which normally would signal the end of our little exploration. Despite my protests, Sam nagged me to investigate further and I had been surprised to discover air wafting in from several cracks in the wall. With renewed persistence, I eventually discovered what appeared to be some sort of path leading further into the cave. With the new discovery, I had been more determined than ever to break through that barrier and see what lay beyond. Images of fame, glory and treasure—gold, diamonds, or perhaps even buried cash—floated in my head.

“Let's make this quick,” Sam moaned. “My mother needs me to run to the grocery store.”

I rolled my eyes at him and grabbed the flashlight before sliding the hammer in a belt loop. I flipped on the flashlight and turned to Sam.

“Alright, I'm going in.”

Heavy rains in the area eroded the entrance during the past week so I found the descent into the cave more difficult due to the smooth surface. Sam held the rope tight and I slid on my rear all the way to the site of the collapse. As soon as I reached the wall, I jammed the flashlight into a nearby crevice. The light played over the wall and fell on a hole which—as soon as I saw it—made me realize that I would no longer need the hammer.

A ten foot high opening had been bored in the rock wall. The hole was approximately ten feet high and about four feet wide but its edges were smooth, like they had been eroded by centuries of running water.

“What in the world?” I whispered.

I pulled the flashlight from the crevice and created more slack in the rope. Moving through the opening cautiously, I continued another ten feet before coming upon a faint light illuminating the path ahead. The path curved in the distance which concealed the source of the light. Fueled by curiosity and frustration, I plodded ahead. I wasn't about to let someone else steal my glory.

I switched the flashlight off and continued along the path. My footsteps as well as my heavy breathing ricocheted off the walls, creating an orchestra of sound that made it difficult to be discreet. Before I reached the bend, a faint tapping sound, similar to the rapping of a hammer against sheet metal, broke the silence. My unknown spelunking adversary was still here and working on something.

I crouched low and inched closer. Fortunately I no longer had to worry about being stealthy, because the strange banging drowned out the sounds of my footfalls. I turned the corner just as the rapping stopped, freezing me in place and blanketing the cave in silence. Water dripped off the limestone, and rained tiny droplets on my cheek. I reached up and flicked them away before the silence was broken by an eerie, humming sound.

Around the corner the path widened into a large underground cavern highlighted by a small pool in the corner of the room. The pool reflected the light source, casting off a greenish-blue aura. It reminded me of underground lakes I had read about in textbooks.

The object in the center of the room grabbed my attention. It resembled a buoy similar to those floating in the ocean. One difference, however, was the large television screen mounted on top of the one in front of me. The flat screen was about four inches thick but five feet wide, which would qualify it to be the world's largest iPad.

A figure  hunched over the front of the assembly, frantically working on the screen. When he turned to fidget with a valve, his silhouette erased any concerns I had of a rival spelunker stealing all my glory. At first it appeared he was eating something, but I soon realized the “food” was actually a set of tentacles extending below his chin.

My mouth dropped open in dawning horror while my mind tried to process the scene. It was as if a mad scientist had taken an octopus and placed it on a human body, in some insane experiment to create an aquatic version of Frankenstein. The creature stood over eight feet tall and the three tentacles sat in a way that made it appear as if the creature had some kind of crazy beard. He continued to fidget with the TV screen, unaware of my presence. The hands working the machinery were human-like, but with three fingers on its hands. The skin of the creature, illuminated by the large spotlight in the center of the room, was a denim-blue color like someone with poor blood circulation.

My brain refused to process the images my eyes were trying to force feed it. I was no longer concerned about discovery credit and my focus switched to my personal safety as I backed carefully out of the cavern. Before I could turn to make a run for it a flat rock collapsed beneath my sneaker, sinking into the limestone floor. A high-pitched squealing alarm pierced my skull and reverberated off the cavern walls, causing me to drop to the ground and cover my ears. I fell hard on my rear, swearing silently that I broke my coccyx (sometimes referred to as the butt bone) and had no choice but to stare helplessly at the creature as it swung towards me.

It hissed like a snake and its chin-beard waved menacingly as it approached me. Due to his size and my precarious position, I found myself focused on its legs. They were thick and elephantine all the way to the feet but instead of toes, the alien had small tentacles, allowing the creature to grip the floor as it walked. The revolting, sucking sound of its feet smacking off the limestone floor caused my heart to park in my throat which, looking back, was a good thing because it blocked the bile attempting to escape my gut. Instead of puking on myself, I gagged and watched helplessly as it lumbered over to me and looked down unpleasantly. I hoped his look was anything but hunger.

The creature wore something like a scuba suit without the helmet, and it glistened as if he had  just emerged from the pool in the corner. It slipped a three-fingered appendage into the folds of its suit and retrieved something that looked a switchblade. I couldn't see it clearly, though, because his huge frame blocked the light in the room. It pushed a button but instead of a blade, a twelve inch long light extended from it, making a popping sound like a cork from a wine bottle. I would have laughed at the absurdity of it all, but my face was a frozen mask of fear. The creature reached over and sliced through my lifeline with ease.

“Hey, the rope gave out. Are you OK?” I heard Sam call out. Even though he was no more than forty yards from my location, at that point in time he might as well have been forty miles away. I was too frozen in fear to respond.

The beast looked toward the source of the voice and I prayed that Sam would stay put. The creature grunted and picked me up by the tattered rope ring before I had a chance to react. Its dark, beady eyes bored into my soul and he held me up like a snagged fish. Withdrawing a syringe—one that looked bigger than any I had ever seen—he held it in front of my face. Instead of a vial it contained an empty hour glass, surrounded by a gold-colored metallic sheath. At the end of the hourglass sat a four inch needle point that shimmered like water reflected by moonlight. The beast hesitated briefly and the needle dangled ominously in front of my eyes. I wished more than anything that I could close them but my facial muscles were paralyzed with fear.

I started to think he second-guessed his decision to stab me but then he plunged the needle into my arm. Oddly, I felt no pain, only a warm tingling sensation. Slipping through the skin uninhibited, the wet sensation spread across the site of the injection. A clucking sound escaped from the creature's throat as it moved in to look closer.

I started to lose consciousness and tried to call out to Sam, but the only sound that came out was a choked gasp. My tongue became ten times too big for my mouth and my throat felt like I had gargled with sand. Darkness enveloped me as I slipped from consciousness.

This is Nathan Chambers, signing off.

I Have A Dinosaur In My Closet

I opened my eyes and looked around. Everything around me—the walls, the ceiling, the furnishings—was the color of tarnished metal. I tried to stand up but restraints held my arms and legs firmly to the bed. The bonds, securely fastened around my wrists and ankles, were actually living, writhing tentacles pulling at my body. In panicked horror, I pulled with all my might, but slimy appendages held me in place.

“HELP ME!” I coughed, and it seemed the more I struggled, the tighter they became.

They had no source and were nothing more than alien, disembodied limbs. Despite their lack of a host body, they were very much alive—like a set of slimy eels.

My cries for help echoed off the metallic walls which gave off the impression of being entombed inside a giant lunchbox.

I closed my eyes and breathed deeply in an attempt to calm myself. My composure was the last thing I wanted to lose in this strange place. I failed, however, and couldn't stop the inevitable flow of tears. My eyes burned with them and I turned my head to look for an exit, but the entire room became a blurred mess. My voice cracked from the uncontrollable sobbing and I was afraid I would start hyperventilating.

“Help,” I croaked. My eyes fell upon a metal door with a wheel, similar to an escape hatch, in the corner of the room. I trembled with fear, wondering what monstrosities lay beyond it.

A loud screech and a thud broke the tomb-like silence of the room. The door slowly swung inward and the monster from the cave entered with a box—no bigger than a briefcase—in his hand. He dropped it at the end of the bed and fixed me with an icy stare. Cold pin pricks poked at the base of my spine and I stiffened with a combination of fear and anticipation at what might be contained inside.

Turning his glossy eyes toward me, his beaky mouth gurgled something that sounded like a baby drowning and stood there with his hands on his hips, waiting for a response.

I shook my head furiously, causing tears to ping-pong off the satin pillow. “What do you want from me?”

He rolled a small cabinet toward the bed and removed a tiny headset—with microphone attachment—and placed it over his head. The earphones covered the creature's ears, which seemed less like ears and more like gill-covered holes. I started to wonder if I was on some kind of crazy reality show. I have heard about shows that place unsuspecting people in scary situations and video tape their reactions to the delight of audiences worldwide. Before I could figure out which show I had been cast in, he tapped his earphone with a scaly finger. The item glowed with a faint green neon light and he thrust a second set toward me.

To say I had a fondness for technology would have been an understatement. It would have been more accurate to say I had a morbid curiosity for all modern gadgets. Instead of being afraid of the item, I was curious. I had already assumed the device wouldn't hurt me since it didn't seem to cause the alien any type of discomfort, and I did not put up a fight when he placed it on my head. He adjusted it so the earphones fit snugly against my ears.

He held up a finger and made a tapping motion against his left ear, urging me to do the same.

I mimicked him and found a button next to the earphone. When I pressed the button, loud static streamed from the gadget, causing me to wince. It eventually cleared and the ringing in my ears faded. I heard everything around me clearly, as if nothing happened.